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Karak District: So, can women shop here or not?
When we talk about women empowerment, our society, not unlike others, is divided between two extremes — those who go to extreme lengths to establish female independence even at the cost of others and...
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Don’t hate me because I am beautiful
Azaan’s over. Everyone has gone back to their rooms. The street’s a mess. I smile as a jalebi floats in a puddle nearby. People rarely treat food with respect anymore. I take out a cigarette and begin...
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Can I please please please blog on ET?
Call me a wannabe or a passionate writer who wants to break into a robust blogosphere sprawling across Pakistan; either way, I am shameless and relentless to the core. I will keep on coming back again...
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Being a woman: Why does marriage equal lifetime security?
“You’ll be left alone, to rot in a corner of the house owned by your brothers and their families.” “There’s a time when you’re wanted, and it doesn’t last long.” “People will ask questions like why our...
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Pakistan must learn from India: Dark skin doesn’t make you ugly
I recently came across an online movement called 'Dark is Beautiful', a campaign that has drawn attention towards the unjust effects of skin colour discrimination in India. The campaign features famous...
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What do Pakistan and India share? No respect for women
They call us independent, free nations. Pakistan and India, after 60 odd years of being ruled by the white man, has been unable to break free of one acute problem: The white woman. Whether it is by...
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Miss American 2014: A tale of racism and sexism hand in hand
Though you may not care – and neither do I – on Sunday a "beauty" pageant was held here in the US. These are contests where a panel of judges evaluates a group of women on their looks, talents and...
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Stop complaining ladies, men get harassed on buses too!
‘Mardon ko toh koi tameez hi nahi hoti ke bus mien kis tarah safar karna hai!’ (Men have no manners at all regarding how to travel on a public bus) This was a phrase that I came across last week when...
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Does a 5-year-old rape victim have a future to look forward to?
She was just five-years-old. She still had many more years to go before she was meant to discover that the world is not a nice place and that heinous crimes are committed against innocent people. That...
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Family day: ‘Staring male’ species not allowed — unless with a female …
This Eid, I ordered my kurta from an outlet in Park Towers and I was meant to pick it up after alterations on chand raat. When I got there, I was stopped at the gate and told quite rudely by the...
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A Pakistani in Amsterdam: Sexual harassment has no geographical location
As I climbed the stairs to my apartment, I could feel my legs giving up and my heart throbbing in my throat. I did not know if my friends realised what damage I had just incurred as we exited the bar...
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Diary of a gap-toothed girl
I must have been in fourth grade when I first visited the dentist. My front teeth had begun to protrude and wide gaps between my teeth began to show. Until then, I had never realised that it was...
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Skimpy clothing in Saudi Arabia? If you’re in a compound, sure!
I remember watching a movie a couple of years ago, called Kingdom, the plot of which centred around an armed assault on a Saudi Aramco housing compound. For those who are not aware of the oil and gas...
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40 things that Pakistani men hate to hear
We need to talk Do I look fat? Umm there’s this new store at the mall… I’m not hungry hungry, but I’ll share your garlic mayo fries. Why do you have to hang out with Fahad so much? Is he your...
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Death sentences for rape in India, ‘cutting grass’ for rapists in Kenya?
In the wake of the tragic Delhi rape incident last year, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had stated, “Violence against women must never be accepted, never excused, never tolerated. Every girl and...
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Salut to the tenants of the night
Salut to the tenants of the night, Who bend faith and time, Who bend modest climes, Wrapped in a thunder cloud, And reach for the holy grail. Salut to the tenants of the night, Who put to shame A...
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Why do Pakistani men have a roving eye?
What is up with Pakistani males and their need to objectify every female that crosses their path? I emphasise on the word Pakistani because having lived in the West, I have never come across a culture...
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Far from reality: Kankar and its depiction of divorced women
When I started watching Kankar, I was happy that there was finally a Pakistani play that depicted a strong independent woman who was not willing to bend down to the whims and fancies of our patriarchal...
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My father divorced my mother because she gave birth to me, a girl
A few days ago, a newborn baby girl was dumped in a garbage heap by an unidentified woman in Faisalabad. No one realised there was a baby until the heap was set on fire and the cries of the baby girl...
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Egyptian verdict: They gave her 11 years in prison, she gave them a...
As I scroll down my Twitter feed, a smile captivates me. The face had thousands of words, endless thoughts and most importantly tranquillity of soul. She isn’t a celebrity or a popular activist rather...
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